The present invention relates to a stacking column for storing articles one above the other or one beside the other on ratchet elements, which have a stop or supporting part for the articles and are assigned to at least one side wall.
Stacking columns are known, and available on the market, in a wide variety of shapes and designs. Stacking columns are used, in particular, for the production of vehicle-body parts in the automobile industry. Robots are used to remove the appropriate vehicle-body parts from the presses and to store them intermediately in stacking columns before they are processed further. It is usual for four stacking columns to be set up in a rectangle. Each stacking column has a multiplicity of ratchet elements which are arranged one above the other. A first ratchet element is located in the standby position. If an article is positioned on this ratchet element, the ratchet element pivots into the operating position and, at the same time, carries along a following ratchet element, which in this way passes into the standby position. A stacking column of this type is known, for example, from DE 38 11 310 C1.
Stacking columns are also used, however, for the horizontal storage of articles, as is described, for example, in DE 40 20 864 A1. These horizontal stacking columns function in a manner similar to the vertical stacking columns.
In the case of horizontal stacking columns, in particular, there is the problem of the article being prone to tilting in the stored state. This is highly undesirable in many cases since it can result not just in the article being damaged but also in the ratchet elements being adjusted unintentionally.